Hamas, Israel agree on truce in Gaza

GAZA - The Islamic Hamas movement announced on Thursday that a truce with Israel on halting escalation in the Gaza Strip started from midnight, a Hamas source told Xinhua.

The agreement, brokered by Egypt and UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov, will end another round of military confrontation between Israel and Hamas, the source said.

"A calm-for-calm deal has been brokered by Egypt and by the UN Special envoy on condition that the Israeli occupation should respect the agreement," the Hamas source said on condition of anonymity.

"The Palestinian resistance has the right to respond to any Israeli violation," the source added.

Meanwhile, a source from the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of armed Palestinian groups in Gaza, said the agreement came into effect at midnight.

Israeli war jets have struck more than 150 sites in Gaza since Wednesday overnight, killing a pregnant woman, her baby and a Hamas fighter, while Gaza militants launched more than 100 rockets toward southern Israel, injuring over 20 Israelis.